Cheshire police chiefs welcomed the Chancellor’s statement that police budgets will be protected – but say they won’t know what the announcement means for the county for a few weeks.

Police Commissioner John Dwyer and Chief Constable Simon Byrne were speaking after yesterday’s (Wednesday) comprehensive spending review when Chancellor George Osborne said now was not the time for further police cuts.

There had been fears the police budget across England and Wales would be cut drastically.

Mr Dwyer said: “We need to look at the detail of what this announcement means for the Constabulary – and this we won’t know for a few weeks until the Government grant to Cheshire is announced.

“But following five years of budget reductions, I’m absolutely delighted that the Chancellor has listened to what I and my colleagues have been saying to him privately over the last few weeks. The headline message appears to be no real terms cuts to policing budgets, and a major increase in funding for counter-terrorism, which – given recent events and our own experiences over the last few years – is very welcome.

“As a Constabulary, we have clear plans in place to protect and if possible enhance frontline policing, and this was independently verified by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the police watchdog, in their recent ‘outstanding’ judgement. This settlement hopefully enables us to build on this.”

Cheshire’s Chief Constable said he was enormously proud of the work his officers do.

“Every day, I receive feedback from victims of crime highlighting the difference that our officers and staff make to their lives,” said Mr Bryne. “And the fact that crime is at its lowest level in a generation, with improving detection rates, and an ‘outstanding’ rating from HMIC, shows how Cheshire Police has been able to deliver despite the financial challenges we have faced.

“So the news that it appears that policing is to be protected from further reductions is very, very welcome news, as is the increase in counter-terrorism funding, given recent events.